"Peaky Blinders Season 6" Making the Most out of a Bad Hand

 

    I understand the criticisms of this season of Peaky Blinders after all so many characters get shoved to the side in order to create a cohesive narrative, I mean most characters end up doing nothing and it becomes less character driven and more event driven. However, under the extraordinary circumstances that was the death of actress Helen McRory, I understand the sudden shift from what made Peaky Blinders so successful in the first place. The reality is Polly was such an integral character, a fact that was proven since the entire season had to become scrapped after her death, and therefore it is important to look at this season with a more optimistic lens than usual.

    Now I know, typically I'm very critical of this show in my reviews, but that's for good reason, because the reality is Peaky Blinders is an excellent show, and frankly its much more interesting for me to point out what has changed rather than report back and say that a show has remained top notch. Although, that does not leave the show free from criticism, and while I do commend the showrunners for making a season that I still enjoyed, the majority of the characters in this season got shafted in order to build up to a clear finale where Tommy fights facists.

    Take for example Arthur, who I mean this in the kindest way, does absolutely nothing of importance but be drunk or high until the very final episode, where he goes back to his violent tendencies and kills the IRA people in a way that so few scenes can satisfy my monkey brain. The cinematography this season was quite beautiful and it almost distracted from the fact that many characters simply did not do anything this season other than exist in scenes. I mean the big reveal of the finale is that Finn is finally being ousted, and it would have been 200% cooler and more impactful if he wasn't absent from the entire season until he was needed for his exile.

    I mean all of last season, the cliffhanger was setup for a showdown between Michael and Tommy, only for Michael to be in prison 90% of the season and die an unceremonious death for no reason. I mean his wife did more than him and her most notable interaction this entire season was having sex with a fascist. Personally, I would have been fine if Peaky Blinders had done away with the six episode format and transitioned to a longer season, because the would have benefitted heavily, from being allowed to breathe more rather than have a storyline squeezed out from a mold that has grown too small.

Final Score: 70/100

    Ultimately, while this season was enjoyable, it could have been so much more if things simply fell the right way for the showrunners. Obviously, death is always an event that is tragic and unforeseen, but I truly do think that much of the potential this season had was squandered away by the fact that they simply wanted to wrap up Tommy's story, and that the show is limited by its six episode format. Perhaps in an alternate reality fans had a season six that didn't have the death of Polly looming over it, but in this one what we received was a messy, strained but still respectable sendoff to the beloved series known as Peaky Blinders.
    

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